Oy, Dems. Oy.

Some Democrats Are Sensing Missed Opportunities. Ya don’t say.

Democrats described a growing sense that they had failed to take full advantage of the troubles that have plagued Mr. Bush and his party since the middle of last year, driving down the president's approval ratings, opening divisions among Republicans in Congress over policy and potentially putting control of the House and Senate into play in November…

"We're selling our party short; you've got to stand for a lot more than just blasting the other side," said Gov. Phil Bredesen of Tennessee. "The country is wide open to hear some alternatives, but I don't think it's wide open to all these criticisms. I am sitting here and getting all my e-mail about the things we are supposed to say about the president's speech, but it's extremely light on ideas. It's like, 'We're for jobs and we're for America.' "

Not good. Not good at all. And the problem is, of course, the party establishment.

But among more establishment Democrats, there is concern that many of the party's most visible leaders — among them, Howard Dean, the Democratic chairman; Senator John Kerry, the party's 2004 presidential candidate; Mr. Kennedy; Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader; and Al Gore, who has assumed a higher profile as the party heads toward the 2008 presidential primaries — may be flawed messengers.

Really? Because Al Gore has given a series of brilliant speeches that left establishment golden boy Tim Kaine’s SOTU rebuttal in the fucking dust. And Howard Dean was able to lay out a great Democratic platform in less than 30 seconds at Katie Couric’s bidding. And John Kerry led the filibuster attempt against Alito, even if was too little too late.

It seems to me the thing that most of those people have in common is a connection to the netroots and progressive elements of the party, and a more discernible resistance to the idea that the Dems will win by being Republican-lite.

No wonder the establishment disdains them.